TSPC member on the run for over 2 years arrested in Latehar

Chatra: A member of the banned Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), a breakaway faction of the proscribed CPI (Maoist), was arrested in Latehar district on Monday in connection with an arson and firing case involving coal trucks in Piparwa, police said on Tuesday. The accused, identified as Ejaz Ansari alias Raju Ansari, 33, a resident of Murpa village, was on the run for nearly two-and-a-half years, police said.

Ansari was apprehended on Monday following a search in his native village. The operation was led by Tandwa SDPO Prabhat Ranjan Barwar after police received a tip-off about his return.

Ansari is an accused in Dec 20, 2023 incident near a govt school under Piparwar police station limits, when miscreants allegedly set three trucks carrying coal on fire and opened fire, creating panic in the area. “We had been tracking him for a long time,” Barwar said.

Ansari is also wanted in multiple criminal cases across Jharkhand. These include two cases registered at Kanke police station in Ranchi, with one related to firing on Bablu Munda. Another case is pending against him at the Railway Protection Force (RPF) police station in Tori, Latehar.